No flies on me

Truth be told I'm covered in them; well at least there is around 100 bass flies aboard 3 Fishes. From poppers to clousers and deceivers to shrimps they are there awaiting a salty swim. The wet one in the mouth of the bass in picture above is of the Belgium fly maestro Guido Vink who fished with me a couple of years back. My god could that guy throw a fly; mind you I shouldn't have been surprised as I believe he was right at the top of his game and represented Belgium across the world.

A few years ago I did a hell of a lot of fly casting for bass but now I do less. Over time I have found that the severe limitations of casting a fly at sea on a boat make the game almost too difficult. When I say this I must caveat it by also stating that fly casting for bass remains extremely effective on its day. Give more shore based opportunity I'd probably have continued but boats are tough.

This comes as a surprise to many of my clients as those that enjoy the fly often start the day believing that they are more than capable of getting a fly out there swimming. Indeed they are normally. However a pitching, yawing and rolling boat on the open sea  is a very different platform - even to the closest inland example of the expanse of Rutland Water (been there, done that). The sea moves in a different way and this movement is less predictable and therefore more difficult to balance on when standing. And you have to stand at sea because those clever boys at the Maritime Coast Guard Agency make it a legal requirement that boat railings (for passenger carrying boats) are over 1m above deck level. You simply can not sit and cast over a 1m railing. In one or two localities the MCA allows County Council Officers to authorise boats for passengers and a watered down set of legislation is applied. So there is a couple of guy offering trips aboard tiny boats with no railings and sitting and casting is there a possibility. Even there though life is never simple and you have to wear a bulky lifejacket the entire time aboard. Not on the spacious and safe 3 Fishes though.

So the physical activity is challenging but as I said earlier, it can be very worthwhile; especially if you have found some bass. The movement of a bass fly through the water is more natural and the fish seem easier fooled. This is something that I will at times exploit when lure casting by rigging a teaser about 3/4m above a hard lure can be bloody successful. And these two reasons are why I have flies aboard  3 Fishes. Teasers and when I'm on them (and have a fly caster aboard); out comes the fly gear.